Ohio Sports News

Last Update on March 21, 2010 01:30 EDT

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) -- Todd Wellemeyer pitched five innings and Aubrey Huff hit a two-run home run on Saturday to lift the San Francisco Giants to a 6-0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.

Wellemeyer gave up four hits, walked two and struck out three in five innings. It was the longest a Giants starter has pitched this spring.

The right-hander also got defensive help from Huff. With one out and runners at first and second, Huff dove to his left to snag a sharply hit ball by Juan Francisco along the line, touched the bag and threw to second base to force Joey Votto for the third out.

Huff's home run, off left-hander Travis Wood in the first inning, was his third of the spring. Edgar Renteria also homered off Wood. Eli Whiteside added a two-run double and John Bowker had a run-scoring single.

GOODYEAR, Ariz. (AP) -- Travis Hafner's three-run homer onto a sidewalk beyond the right-field wall capped Cleveland's eight-run second inning off Jason Jennings and powered the Indians to a 12-4 win over a split squad of Oakland Athletics on Saturday.

Hafner homered for the second time in three days, launching the type of deep shot the Indians hope to see from him during the regular season. Coming off shoulder surgery, Cleveland's designated hitter hit just 16 homers last season -- 26 fewer than his career high in 2006.

Jennings, signed earlier this month by the A's and in the mix to be their fifth starter, was tagged for eight runs and seven hits in 1 2-3 innings.

Mitch Talbot improved his chances of making the Indians' rotation with 3 1-3 scoreless innings. The right-hander has allowed just one run in 11 1-3 innings this spring.

Kevin Kouzmanoff hit a two-run homer and Matt Carson added a solo shot for Oakland.

GOODYEAR, Ariz. (AP) -- Cleveland Indians closer Kerry Wood could miss up to two months with a strained muscle in his upper back.

Trainer Lonnie Soloff said Wood has a moderate strain on his right side. The trainer says Wood will be out a minimum of six to eight weeks.

Wood felt sore after throwing on March 10. He wasn't concerned about the injury, but when the symptoms didn't ease, the right-hander underwent an MRI exam that revealed the problem.

The 32-year-old Wood has a history of elbow and shoulder problems and has undergone surgery on both.

While Wood is out, the Indians will use right-hander Chris Perez as their closer. Perez had one save last season after coming over in a trade from St. Louis.

GOODYEAR, Ariz. (AP) -- Infielder Wes Hodges has been sent to the minor leagues despite being Cleveland's best hitter this spring.

The Indians optioned Hodges and infielder Jason Donald on Saturday to Triple-A Columbus. The team also reassigned infielder Lonnie Chisenhall to its minor league camp.

Hodges batted .417 with a homer, club-leading four doubles and seven RBIs in 11 games.

The 25-year-old was one of several young players to impress new Indians manager Manny Acta, who knew little about them when camp opened.

Hodges was drafted in the second round as a third baseman in pick in 2006, but the Indians have since switched him to first. He batted .265 with five homers and 38 RBIs in 86 games last season for Columbus.

Chisenhall, 21, also emerged as a future impact player this spring. The former first-round pick will start the season at Double-A Akron.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Cody Franson scored 1:54 into overtime and the Nashville Predators stretched their winning streak to five games with a 1-0 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday night.

Columbus had its two-game winning run snapped.

Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne and Columbus counterpart Steve Mason were equally stingy during regulation time. Rinne stopped all 32 shots he saw in the first 60 minutes and then one more in overtime. Mason made 30 saves, all before the extra session.

Franson beat Mason with a slap shot from the right point through traffic. It was the rookie's sixth goal of the season and third game-winner.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) -- J.P. Prince scored 18 points, and Brian Williams and Wayne Chism had 12 rebounds apiece on Saturday to lead sixth-seeded Tennessee to an 83-68 victory over No. 14 seed Ohio on Saturday in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

It's the third time in four years Bruce Pearl's Volunteers have reached the NCAA's second weekend. Tennessee will play the winner of Sunday's Ohio State-Georgia Tech game in the Midwest Regional semifinals in St. Louis.

Tommy Freeman scored 23 points for Ohio, which was the lowest seed to get out of the first round. But he got little help from Armon Bassett and freshman D.J. Cooper, the guards who starred in the first-round victory over third-seeded Georgetown but combined for 23 points on 7-of-23 shooting against Tennessee.

The Bobcats trailed by six midway through the second half before the Vols went on a 10-1 run.

MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Georgia Tech guard Iman Shumpert doesn't need a scouting report on Evan Turner.

In fact, Shumpert could give his coaches a few tips about his grade school teammate.

A spot in next weekend's Midwest Regional semifinal is the prize in Sunday's game between 10th-seeded Georgia Tech and No. 2 seed Ohio State . But there are hometown bragging rights on the line, too, with Chicago natives Shumpert and Turner facing each other for the first time since high school.

Shumpert is a relentless defender, having held Oklahoma State's James Anderson, the nation's third-leading scorer, to 11 points on 3-of-12 shooting in Georgia Tech's first-round victory on Friday. Now Shumpert gets Turner, who came into the tournament averaging close to a double-double with 20.3 points and 9.2 rebounds.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- Aisha Jefferson scored 17 points to lead fifth-seeded Michigan State past 12th-seeded Bowling Green 72-62 in the opening round of the women's NCAA tournament on Saturday.

Jasmine Thomas and Brittney Thomas added 11 points each for the Spartans , who will face either fourth-seeded Kentucky or 13th-seeded Liberty in the second round on Monday night.

Two-time Mid-American Conference Player of the Year Lauren Prochaska led the Falcons with 19 points but cooled off after a hot start. She made her first three shots but finished just 5 of 13 from the floor as Bowling Green struggled to contend with Michigan State's size advantage.

The Spartans outscored the Falcons 28-4 in the paint and forced 16 turnovers to pull away over the final 10 minutes.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Brittany Wilson scored just before the buzzer, and eighth-seeded Dayton rallied from an 18-point deficit to beat No. 9 seed TCU 67-66 Saturday in the opening round of the NCAA women's tournament.

Dayton trailed by 18 with 13:07 left and took advantage of TCU going cold down the stretch to pull off the incredible rally in the Flyers' tournament debut.

Patrice Lalor found Wilson inside with time running down, and Wilson hit the layup with 1.1 seconds left to start the celebration at midcourt.

TCU lost for a second straight year to a tournament newcomer. This time, the Lady Frogs weren't taken down by a tournament-tying 16 3-pointers as in 2009 in an upset by South Dakota State. They have only themselves to blame after the Mountain West regular season champ failed to hold onto a lead that was as much 52-34.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) -- Vermont and Cleveland State aren't starry eyed this time around in the NCAA women's tournament.

Players on both teams are making their second tournment appearances and say this time around they are looking for better showings. Vermont guard May Kotsopoulos says Sunday's game against seventh-seeded Wisconsin is winnable. She says last year against Connecticut the Catamounts were just happy to be there.

Cleveland State also is looking for its first tournament victory. In its first appearance, two years ago against Stanford, the Vikings lost 85-47 in Palo Alto, Calif. The Vikings need to play the home team again, facing second-seeded Notre Dame .

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- When the NCAA women's pairings were announced, Ohio State couldn't help but look far down its Dayton Regional bracket and see unbeaten and top-ranked Connecticut.

About the same time, Mississippi State couldn't help but glance one game down the same bracket and see Ohio State. Again.

Second-seeded Ohio State was rewarded for its 30-4 season with a relatively short trip to Pittsburgh for what will be the Buckeyes' first two tournament games, unless 15th-seeded St. Francis pulls off one of the biggest upsets in tournament history by winning Sunday.

And if Mississippi State can eliminate Middle Tennessee State and national scoring leader Alysha Clark, the Lady Bulldogs would meet Ohio State in the tournament for the second successive season.

OHIO HEADLINES

CENTRAL OHIO WEATHER

SUNDAY: Cloudy with rain developing by late afternoon.  High 66.

SUNDAY NIGHT: Rain likely.  Low 49.

MONDAY: Rain likely and cooler.  High 55.

Spring has officially arrived! 

Clouds will continue increasing as a cold front approaches from the Northwest. ...